Free Aiden's Betrayal by C.T. Nicholson Page B

with trying to convince everyone until eventually I lied and pretended I didn’t believe in vampires anymore.”
    “ Oh Elle, I’m so sorry for your loss.” Tears in her eyes, Jodi jumped up and hugged Elle. “How about I give you a tour to take your mind off things?”
    After her parent's death Elle thought vampires to be evil, the devil's minions, yet now she stood before a vampire who cried for her. Man if her whole view on life hadn’t changed in twenty-four hours. Elle nodded then followed Jodi out.
    “ Obviously that was Ethan’s play area. I swear I think he loves that room more than me sometimes.” Jodi laughed.
    Ethan come running out of the room at that exact moment and gave Jodi the most passionate kiss Elle had ever seen in person as she watched sparks explode around them.
    Then she twisted her hands together and turned her gaze away, feeling like she should leave them alone. While Aiden kissed her with more passion than anyone else ever had, she didn’t think he was looking for a life-long relationship.
    “ Don’t ever say that again. You know I love you and my ‘toys’ the same.” Laughing, Ethan kissed her on the forehead then went back to his chair.
    “ How long have you been a vampire?” Jodi acted and spoke more modern, but so did many of the others.
    “ Since nineteen sixty-four and I’ve loved every minute of it. Some things can be irritating. Like how all the men will nearly smother you with the overprotective genes they all seem to carry. I love them all as family, but sometimes I just want to scream at them to let me go shopping on my own.” She shot a quick grin at Elle. “I’ve done that. They make me laugh, though.”
    Elle could see the love and happiness in the way Jodi’s eyes jumped with excitement as she spoke about the men and Lena. “When were the others turned?”
    “ Oh, the others weren’t turned. They were all born vampires.” She opened a door and walked into a huge dining area.
    Looking around at the large table , Elle saw at least twenty chairs. “How many people live here?”
    “ You’ve met everyone so far. But Julian’s convinced more of the others will meet their mates like Ethan and I did so we could grow. It's taking a while for that to happen.” Jodi walked around the table toward another door. “We don’t eat here much, but sometimes I can manage to round them all up for a good meal. They meet here other times.”
    Elle’s stomach turned. Imagining what kind of meal Jodi talked about made her feel sick.
    Jodi slapped her lightly on the arm. “Not that kind of meal. Sheesh! We’re not monsters. We eat human food just like you. We don’t need it as much since blood is our main source of survival, but we still need it.”
    Thank God! Elle didn’t think she could handle the thought of a few humans being drained on the kitchen table. Come to think of it, she hadn’t seen another human in their home. “Where do you get blood?”
    “ We don’t drink from humans. Well, some of the guys do when they’re with women. Bagged blood is all I’ve ever had, other than Ethan.” Jodi blushed.
    “ You can drink from other vampires?”
    At her question, Jodi’s cheeks turned even redder than before. “I... when we, you know, it just happens. The passion we experience together is out of this world. I don’t think we even realize drinking each other’s blood is different than foreplay.”
    T he way Jodi’s eyes glowed with excitement Elle actually thought she might like to be bit by Aiden.
    “ Oh! Look at the time! They’ll all be back soon.” Jodi grabbed her hand and dragged her back out into the hall.
    At the door Jodi shoved her forward and gave her a mischievous grin before she disappeared in a blur down the hall. Elle stood there shocked, but she couldn’t help her excitement as she waited for Aiden to come home.
    Pacing the floor didn’t slow her shaky hands or the rapid beat of her heart. When she had gotten out of bed after Aiden left,